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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-01-27
CONTENTS
[01] Eight Turkish military servicemen to remain in custody, Greek
police say
[01] Eight Turkish military servicemen to remain in custody, Greek
police say
Greek authorities on Friday announced that the eight Turkish military
servicemen who sought refuge in Greece after July's failed coup in Turkey
will remain in custody. The head of the Greek Police Aliens Directorate
Constantinos Louziotis said the eight will not be released following
a decision by the Supreme Court against their extradition to Turkey
since their asylum applications were still pending but also because
they posed a potential public order and national security threat.
For the above reasons, they will continue to be detained at the Olympic
Village police station, he said.
The public prosecutor for extraditions Maria Malouhou on Thursday called
for their release after the court's decision, provided they were not
being held for other reasons. In an announcement on Friday, the police
said that an order to hold the three for three months was issued after
they landed in Alexandroupolis in a Turkish military helicopter, to be
renewed every three months until a final decision on their application
for asylum was issued by the 5th Independent Refugees Committee.
Meanwhile, the Hellenic Union for Human Rights issued an announcement
welcoming the Supreme Court's decision "with relief," on Friday. "In
the broader framework of justice insecurity and uncertainty that marks
Greek reality for even self-evident matters, it is no small thing that
the Supreme Court decided not to extradite the eight servicemen sought
by Turkey," it said. It also noted that the human rights situation in
Turkey was such as to "permit no other outcome".
"The asylum request of the eight is now being heard at a secondary level,
while numerous similar cases of Turks that sought refuge in Greece wait
their turn. It is an opportunity for the Greek government and Greek
justice to help put the brakes on a constantly deepening autocracy in
the neighbouring country," it added
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